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Introduction
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Want to have the right blend in your morning cuppa? Dr. Andrea Illy, chairman, Illy Caffe, gives tips for a perfect aroma
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"HERE'S TO the legendary dancing goats," I whisper to myself as I sit in the historical "Café Florian" (Napoleon's favourite) in Venice and drink the perfect cup of heady espresso. Wildly sensuous aromas and caffeine kick start me into high-voltage activity. Much later I learn all about "coffee tasting" from the international guru of coffee Dr. Andrea Illy himself. I find it even more exciting than "wine tasting" especially when the tutoring comes from the third generation and chairman of Illy Caffe, synonymous for the finest Arabica coffee worldwide.
But first about the dancing goats. The legend originates in Abyssinia when Kaldi the goat-herd was so intrigued by his goats, which had begun dancing, that he himself checked out the berries they had been eating. That was in the 3rd Century AD when they say coffee was "discovered".
The other story I heard was about Baba Budan, a 16th Century pilgrim who taped seven coffee seeds onto his stomach, smuggled them out of Arabia and set up the first Indian plantation in the South.
Since then two major varieties of coffee bushes have been nurturing us, coffee lovers. The finer coffea Arabica is a large bush that originates in Ethiopia and thrives in high altitudes. The Coffea Robusta is a small tree from the Congo and yields a poorer quality of fruit.
But right now I am getting high on the aroma of 100 per cent pure Arabica Illy espresso coffee. As you will see, coffee tasting pampers all the five senses.
"First you must observe and look" says Dr. Andrea Illy as he shows me the "crema" on the surface of the black coffee. "This crema should be thick and persistent and light brown and the colour of nuts" he adds eloquently "actually, should be like a tiger skin".
As I inhale the fragrance, this master chemist and author of Espresso coffee: the chemistry of quality explains. "On the nose, you must find chocolaty, flowery and even fruity notes and the aromas should be intense". And as I sip the full-bodied coffee, I understand what he means by a good balance between acidity and bitterness and sweetness and aftertaste. "There should be no salty taste at all" he points out.
As I sip on my favourite brew, I am delighted to find out that flavour is a retro nasal perception and I find buttery, chocolaty and fruity notes and guess what? I close my eyes and enjoy! All the 730 volatile flavours make me count my blessings and I silently thank Francesco Illy, Andrea's grandfather who founded the company in Trieste, pioneered the pressurisation system of packaging and preserving coffee and the E.S.E (Easy Serving Espresso) and his grand children have not only set up the University of Coffee in Naples but also instituted Coffee Awards in Brazil and now India.
I drink to you, the family Illy, Baba Budan and my delicious dancing goats, where would we be without you?
P.S. Should you need any recipes for making the perfect "Keoke", "Amore", "Irish coffee", "Shakerato" and more, please call or e-mail as Dr. Andrea has been kind enough to share them with us. After all, life is about sharing and caring. Agree?
YOUR BLESSINGS and warm wishes are what make all my work worthwhile. Thank you ever so much for calling and keeping in touch. Look forward to hearing from you!
RASHMI UDAY SINGH
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